


Damn, Kid

by Zanbaby



Category: ALL OUT!! - Amase Shiori (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, fluff fluff fluff, more like begrudging affection actually but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-07 06:13:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8786713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zanbaby/pseuds/Zanbaby
Summary: Etsugo is taking his time getting over the incident with Hana but a surprisingly softhearted teammate talks some sense into him~





	

Even a week after the incident where Ebumi had taken his place in the match against Sagami, Etsugo continues to give the impression that he hasn't yet recovered. 

 

Not that the boisterous blond is in the habit of caring for his teammates _intensely_ , (least of all arrogant first years, much like the other blond,) but he certainly isn't a stranger to stress induced outbursts, and he isn't _quite_ inconsiderate enough to pretend he doesn't recall how jarring it could be when one's confidence gets knocked. 

 

Ōharano is a kid.

 

Only a year younger, mind, but he is green nonetheless. And for some weird reason, Ebumi can't help returning to the memory of seeing the smaller boy offside, sulking under a sweatshirt with his head hung miserably.

 

 

Ebumi himself is an aggressive player, that's all there is to be said on that; he doesn't have any qualms about getting dirty. But, and _only_ after it was pointed out so unwelcomed by Matsuo, there was perhaps a _little_ more viciousness than usual in his first attack against Sagami's Hana.

 

And, perhaps, although he _hates_ to even consider it, maybe the _reason_ for such viciousness was a result of some kind of... innate drive to avenge his own.

 

He'd seen the brunet taunting Etsugo, and he'd seen how the blond's confidence just withered there and then.

 

So, _just maybe_ , his targeting Hana was more like his ode to, 'no one messes with my shitty juniors and gets away with it.'

 

 

He shakes the idea from his head as he sits at the back of English class and resents every minute of it, but when he's saved by the bell at the end of the day, Ebumi is notably startled to find the elusive first year already in the club room dressed in his kit. 

 

"Oi, brat, you're supposed to wait for the captain before just charging into the changin' room willy nilly!"

 

"Oh," Etsugo retorts with that signature expression; sporting one hitched brow and a disinterested gaze, "then why are you in here?"

 

Ebumi's short fuse runs out immediately, and he storms toward the kid, but steels himself once he's looming over him, deciding just this once that it would be better not to involve fists. 

 

"Listen, you little shit, I wasn't gunna' say nothin' cuz I don't care, but just 'cuz you get put in time-out for bein' a jackass, doesn't mean you can disappear for a week of practice!"

 

The smaller boy's expression wavers, but he quickly recomposes himself and responds, "who are you to tell me when to come to practice when you don't turn up all too often yourself?"

 

 

Despite the assessment being _totally_ spot on, and Ebumi having brought this on himself by being unnecessarily confrontational, he snaps anyway.

 

"You ought to toughen up, brat! Your problem is that ya' too aloof and then all that goes to shit when one kid starts pickin' on ya'."

 

Ebumi leers menacingly as he bares down on the other and that really seems to touch a nerve.

 

The younger blond tightens his fists by his sides and grits his teeth, preparing to fight back.

 

"You don't know what that bastard said to me! All you do is sit on the sidelines and watch!"

 

 

Ebumi smirks, unconsciously alluding to the point he'd been mulling over all day without actually realising it.

 

"Well when you got a taste of being in time-out I'd'a thought you'd see why that was, brat," he proudly declared in regards to the violence he'd unleashed on the field. 

 

"I'm not impressed by your ape-like behaviour. A knee to the chin is an illegal move... even if the bastard deserved it..." Etsugo mutters.

 

"You say that, but our new coach seems to think that playin' dirty against filth like them is a smart move. You could learn a lot from me, squirt," the cocky second year professes. 

 

"Learn how to get red carded, maybe," Etsugo bites back.

 

 

To his surprise, Ebumi doesn't lose his temper at the prod though. Instead he just snickers. 

 

"You don't need me to teach ya' that, drama queen. What was it you cried about? 'The team's morale is the pits!', 'It's their fault I missed the kick!', 'Wah!'" The boisterous blond mimics. 

 

"It's true!" Etsugo insists bitterly. "This team is shit!"

 

There it was again, that flicker of protectiveness to his teammates that Ebumi refuses to acknowledge even as he defends them.

 

 

"Our gameplay isn't great," he admits, "but we ain't no Sagami scum, talking smack and trying to get inside people's heads to trip them up!"

 

"Tch, well it works well enough, so maybe we should be doing that."

 

"Hn," Ebumi leers, looking down on the avoidant first year, "c'mon then, what'd he say to ya'?"

 

The pair of evasive golden eyes dart up critically before swimming away again as Etsugo shifts his weight into the other hip and frowns. 

 

 

"Does it even matter now?" 

 

The taller boy frowns too.

 

"Well sure it matters, if it's keeping ya' down and making you not wanna' practice it must'a been bad. So come on," he coaches a little less gently than required, "out with it, kid, what'd that shithead say that messed you up so bad?"

 

Etsugo stays quiet, but his aura is much different now. It lacks presence and confidence, and even his posture is less defined.

 

 

It's only a moment before Ebumi is close to trying again to coach an answer out of the other, he realises just in time, and with great _horror_ , that Etsugo is _crying_.

 

"H— hey, brat!" He objects to the scene, half of him stuck in that superior mindset where he needs to call him names, the other half emerging in a long disused capability of sympathy. 

 

"Don't— don't cry, damn, kid... I ain't good with crap like this," Ebumi frets, softening more and more as the other boy only looks increasingly pained, clearly trying to smother his tears. 

 

"Look, you don't hafta' tell me what he said, yeah? I was just— y'know... damn, kid... I really ain't good with this crap—" the sudden big brother in him pours helplessly.

 

"Shit, it musta' been bad, huh? Damn, kid... just— just say the word and I'll beat the shit outta' him for you, okay?"

 

 

Finally he earns a reprieve as Etsugo gives a gentle laugh and dries his eyes as inconspicuously as possible. 

 

"You already did, idiot," he reminds the other. 

 

"Hah! Y— yeah, I guess, but— I mean for real, y'know?" Ebumi laughs nervously, scratching the back of his head.

 

"I'll tell him to stay away from ya' and not to mess with ya', yeah?"

 

"Tch, this is totally uncomfortable," Etsugo grumbles, appreciating that the older boy is trying to be kind, but not wanting to deny himself a jibe for his awkward attempts. 

 

"You're tellin' me, brat!" Ebumi laughs along obnoxiously.

 

 

"Ah, you two are getting on?" Mutsumi interrupts as he opens the door with Gion and 'Tree Trunk' in tow, startling the other pair.

 

"Psh! No way, this little turd is the worst!" Ebumi insists, dragging poor Etsugo into a headlock and unsettling his similarly golden tresses.

 

"Get off me, you psycho! Kill yourself!" The smaller boy plays along until he is unhanded.

 

"Right," Mutsumi mutters, not entirely sold on the performance, "well we might as well get changed while we wait for Taku— I mean, the captain..."

 

 

Once the other three are occupied by Gion's loudmouth antics, Ebumi extends a final hint of kindness before the chance is lost when the rest of the team arrive. 

 

"Oi, kid," he so eloquently begins, "if you need ta' clear ya' head, don't go skipping practice to do it... hit me up instead and I'll teach ya' how to punch stuff," he smirks.

 

"Hn, whatever, staying at home instead of practice is pretty uncomfortable anyway," Etsugo replies wryly. 

**Author's Note:**

> might totally clash with this week's ep but omgg when ebumi came on after etsu's meltdown & wiped out those sagami bullies i swear my heart took off & i knew i needed to write some awkward caring big bro ebumi senpai & a teary little sweetheart etsugo who is my fav bc he reminds me of baby dio brando (’0‘)  
> (i wrote this at 4am sorry for any mistakes (;-;) )


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